Mechanical musical instrument



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

A. H. HAMMOND. MECHANICAL MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

Patented Mar. 7.1882.

N4 PETEPS. Plww-Lnhographar. Washmgm", D. C4

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

A. H. HAMMOND. MEGHANIGAL MUSIGAL INSTRUMENT.

Patented Mar. 7,1882.

#un @j Ww U5 @mmf UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

MECHANICAL MUS ICAL INSTRUMENT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 254,645, dated March 7, 1882.

Application tiled September S, 188i. (No model.)

Io all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ANDREW I-I. HAMMOND, of \Vorcester, in the county of Vorcester and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mechanical Musical Instruments, of which the following is a specification.

While my invention is applicable generally to musical instruments in which the operation of the sound-producing devices is controlled by a traveling music card, tablet, or sheet, certain features of the invention are particularly useful in instruments in which a perforated music-sheet is wound upon a music-roller preparatory to playing, and in the act of playing is drawn therefrom over a reed-board, the top of which constitutes a rest, and is wound upon a take-up roller.

My invent-ion consists of the combination, in a mechanical musical instrument adapted to be operated by a traveling music-sheet, with a roller around which the sheet is wound or passes, and a driving-shaft for imparting motion thereto, of a rest for said music sheet overhanging said shaft and keeping the sheet out of contact with the shaft or its connections.

The invention also consists of the combination, in a mechanical musical instrument, with a music-roller and a take-up roller, of adrivingshaft arranged between them, a bearingblock for one end of said shaft fulcrumed or pivoted above or at one side of said shalt, and mechanism connected with said bearing-block below or at an opposite side of said shaft, for moving said block toward either roller to cause the shaft to engage therewith and simultaneously free the other roller from said shaft.

The invention also consists of the combination, in a mechanical musical instrument., of music and take-up rollers, a driving-shaft arranged between them, a bearing for said shaft capable of adjustment to cause said shaft to impart motion to one of said rollers and simultaneously release the other, an arm and means for actuating said arm to adjust said bearing, and at the same time put such a tension on the arm as to causeitto exertaspring force,where by it holds said shaft with a yielding pressure in position to transmit the desired motion. This bearing-block has preferably a spring-arm or tail-piece, to which the mechanism for operating it is connected, so as to enable wheels upon the driving-shaft to be pressed against the said rollers or wheels thereon with an elastic or yielding pressure sufficient to enable it to transmit motion to them.

The invention also consists of the combination, in a mechanical musical instrument, with music and take-up rollers and a driving-shaft between them, of a crank connected with the bearing-block supporting one end ofsaid shaft, whereby provision is afforded for moving the shaft in either direction to cause it to impart motion to eitherroller and for holding itin such position by simply bringing the crank on or slightly past its center. The crank is preferably connected by a rod with the spring-arm or tail-piece of the bearing-block before described.

The invention also consists in the combination, in a wind musical instrument to be operated by a travelingmusic-sheet,ofawind-chest or receiver, a relief-valve therefor, a rock-shaft provided with two arms, to one of which said valve is connected, and means for acting on the other arml to raise the valve, whereby an equilibrium of pressure within and without the receiver is established, and discordant sounds produced by the passage of air through the reeds during the rewinding ofthe music-sheet after playing are prevented.

The invention also consists inthe combination, in a wind musical instrument, with an eX- pansible wind-chest or receiver, of a valve and means deriving motion from the movableboard of the wind-chest or receiver, and serving to impart to the valve a slower and more gradual motion than it would have if operated on directly by the movable board, whereby the wind chest or receiver is prevented from being exhausted of air or from having the pressure of air therein increased to such a degree as to overwerk the sound-producing devices andimpairtheir action. The means for operating the valve preferably consists ot' a lever extending beyond the valve, and provided with a pin projecting into the wind-chest or receiver through the tixed board, and adapted to be operated on by the movable board to slowly and gradually open said valve in exact proportion to the requirements of the music being played.

In the aecompan yin g drawings, Figure 1 rep- IOO its bearings and another substituted.

resents a plan view of an instrument embodying my invention, the top and the upper portion of the body of the case being removed. Fig. 2 representsavertical section on the dotted line w a', Fig. l; and Fig. 3 represents a similar section upon the dotted line y y, Fig. l.

Similar letters of reference designate corresponding parts in all the figures.

A designates the body of the case of the instrument, and B designates a partition near the bottom thereof, and inclined from one side to the other of the case. Below the partition B is an expansible wind-chest or receiver, G, which comprises a movable board, C, and is exhausted ofair by bellows D. rIhe wind-chest or receiver G and bellows, though here constructed upon the exhaust principle, might be constructed to operate to produce air under pressure,.the other parts of the instrument beingmoditiedaccordingly. Threebellows,D,are here shown; and E designates a cranked driving-shaft, which operates the bellows through pitman or connecting rods E. The cranks of the shaft E are set at different points, and therefore serve to operate the bellows successively and produce a nearly-uniform tension of air within the wind-chest or receiver. The shaft E is provided outside the case A with a handcrank, E2, whereby it may be turned.

F designates a reed-board erected upon the partition'B, and projecting upward therefrom at an angle to the perpendicular and toward the shaft E. rIhis reed-board is constructed with reed cells or ducts a, in which are reeds a', andl which are all in free communication with the wind-chest C. The reed cells or ducts extend through the upper surface of the reedboard F, and said upper surface is convex or rounded, so as to form a rest, F, for the perforated music-sheet G, whereby the operation of the reeds is controlled. The music-sheet G, before playing, is wound or rolled upon a musicroller, H, and in the act.of playing is drawn therefrom over the rest F and wound upon a take-up roller, H', to which its end may be attached by a hook, b, in the roller H, and an eye, c, upon the sheet. The course ofthe musicsheet is indicated by a dotted line in Fig. 2. The rest F is made to extend considerably beyond thatside ofthe reed-board which is nearest the driving-shaft E, and it thus is made to overhang the said shaft, so that it will prevent the music-sheet from coming in contact with the said shaft or its connections.

One end of the music-sheet G is permanently attached in any suitable manner to the musicroller H, and when it is desired to change the piece of music the roller itself' is taken from In order to facilitate the removal and insertion of thegroller I provide bearings therefor of peculiar construction. (Shown best in Fig. 3.)

Although the takelup roller H is not necessarily so often removed from its bearings, I have shown its bearings as constructed like those of the music-roller H. Each bearing is composed of a `fixed block, I, secured to the case A, and a movable cap, I, pivoted at Land held upon the block I by means of a spring, I2. In the edge of the blocks I are formed notches or recesses e, which receive the journals, and in which thejournals are retained by the pivoted caps I. rlhe opposite l'acesof the blocks and caps diverge, as at e', beyond the notches e, thus enabling a roller to be placed with itsjournals resting between such diverging portions, and then inserted in the notches by simply pushing it down or into them, the caps Il being forced away from the blocks I by the pressure exerted upon them by the journals of the roller, and, after the entrance of the journals into the notches, returning to hold the journals in the said notches. The caps I' bear directly on the journals of the roller and exert a friction thereon, which will prevent the rollers from moving too rapidly, or from moving at all when they are not desired to move. When the roller is to be removed it may be readily done by pulling it outward with a little force, and hence it will be seen that the roller may be either inserted in the instrument or removed therefrom without the necessity of any manipulation of the bearings by the hands. The music-sheet Gis drawn forward to effect the playing of the instrument by a. positive rotation of the take-up roller H', the music-roller H being free to rotate as the sheet is unwound therefrom. Al'ter playing, the music-sheet is rewound or rcrolled by imparting a positive rotation to the musicroller H,the take-up roller H being free to ro tate as the sheet is drawn from it.

Upon the driving or crank shaft E arelargc and small wheels J K, and upon the shaft of the music-roller H is a wheel,J, which ranges with the large wheel J, and upon the shaft of the take-up roller H is a wheel, K', which ranges with the small wheel K. The end of the shaft E, upon which are the wheels J K, passes through a slot or elongated hole in the case A, thus permitting the said end of the shaft to be shifted laterally a slight distance in either direction. If the shaft E be shifted toward the take-up roller H', as seen in Fig. 1, the wheel K is brought into contact with the larger wheel Kl upon the takeup roller, and a slow motion for playing is imparted thereto; but if moved in the oppositc direction the wheel K is removed from the wheel K', and the large wheel J is brought into contact with the wheel J upon the musicroller, thus rotating the latter at a rapid speed for rewinding. The arrangement of these wheels is clearly shown in Fig. l, and in order to increase their effectiveness certain of the wheels might be covered with rubber.

The shaft E is journaled adjacent to the wheels in a bearing-block, L, which is fulcrumed atf, as seen in Fig. 3, above the shaft, and is provided with a downwardly-projecting arm or tail-piece, L, by which it may be swung or moved in either direction.

ICO

IIO

IIS

To the arm or tail-piece L' is connected one end of a pitman or connecting rod, g, the other end of which is connected to a crank, h, which may be turned to impart longitudinal movement to the rod g, and thus effect the swinging of the bearing-block L. rlhe journals of the crank h are fitted in suitable bearings in the side of the case A and in a block, h', and one of its journals projects through the case, and is provided with a knob, crank, or handpiece, h2, whereby it may be turned. By turning the crank h a half-revolution the shaft E may be moved into such position that when rotated it will impart motion to either the music-roller or the take-up roller, and when said crank is in either position the rod g and crank will be on or slightly past the dead-center, and therefore will hold the shaftE rigidly in either position to which it may be adjusted.

U pon the side of the case or top ofthe partition B, below the rod g, is a block, g', forming a stop upon which the rod g will bear when the crank h is turned in either direction, and prevent its being turned any considerable dis` tance past the dead-center. The tail-piece or arm L may be made of wood or other suitable material, and is preferably thin, so as to be slightly elastic. The crank 7L is so combined with the arm or tail-piece that when operated vis moved into the position shown in Fig. 2,

it serves to pull or push the lower end of the arm or tail-piece farther than is necessary to bring the wheel J into contact with the wheel J', or the wheelK into contact with the wheel K. Hence in either case the arm or tail-piece is deected and made to constitute a spring. The wheels J and K are therefore held with a yielding pressure against their fellows, and a good frictional contact is maintained between them.

The swinging bearing-block L, with its elastic arm or tail-piece L', might be employed in conneetion with other mechanism than that here shownfor adjusting the bearing-block, and the crank lt might be combined with other mechanism for operating upon the shaft E.

In the partition B, or top ofthe wind-chest or receiver C, is an opening, t', which is closed by an outwardly-opening valve, j, hinged at one edge, so that it may be raised to place the receiver or wind-chest in free communication with the atmosphere, as seen clearlyin Fig. 2. The opening of the relief-valvej during the rewinding of the music-sheet prevents the reeds from being sounded. rlhe valvej is raised by turning a rock-shaft, k, which has an arm, k', connected with the valve, and a second arm, k2, which is arranged immediately in line with the rod g, as seen in Fig. 1. When the rod g to effect the rotation of the musicroller H for rewinding the music-sheet` the end of the rod g acts upon the arm k2 and turns the rock-shaft k, thus effecting the opening of the valvej, and the valve is thus held open during the whole operation of rewinding the music-sheet.

`The relief-valve j might be arranged on the reed-board instead of on the partition B or top of the wind-chest, and operated in a similar manner by a rock-shaft and the rod g. It might in either case be connected with any mechanism employed for actuating the music-roller for rewinding the music-sheet, so as to be automaticaliy opened and held open during rewinding.

It is obvious that the relief-valve may be raised by manipulating its arm 7c to uncover the opening 'i and prevent the instrument from playing any particular piece of music.

The bellows and wind-chest orreceiver of musical instruments have heretofore been proportioned to effect the proper operation of the largest number of reeds which are desi gnvd to operate sim ultaneously. Consequently, when a fewer number of reeds are in operation the bellows exhaust air too rapidly from the wind-chest or receiver, and thus subject the reeds to a much stronger current of air than they are designed to bear, throwing them out of tune and impairing their tone. In mechanical or automatic musical instruments wherein the bellows are operated and the music-sheet fed from the saine driving-shaft, this shaft has to be kept in operation at a certain speed to feed the musicsheet, and oftentimes results in an operation of the bellows which is far more vigorous than is necessary to cause the speaking of the reeds which the muse-sheet at the time permits to operate. Therefore itis especially necessary in this class of instruments that some provision be afforded for equalizing the action ofthe belllows on the reeds which are in operation, what- I am aware that relief-valves operated by the movable board of a wind-chest have been employed7 and hence I do not claim such a valve, broadly. Vhat I desire is a valve that shall operate gradually and slowly, and in exact proportion to the requirements of the music being played. I do not therefore actuate the valve directly bythe said movable board otl the windchest, but by an intermediate device, which will transmit t0 the valve a slower movement than the valve would derive if operated directly by the said movable board.

The intermediate device here shown consists of a lever, l, which is hinged in place at one end, and at the other end is provided with a pin, m, projecting through a hole in the top of the wind-chest or receiver. A piece of leather or other suitable material, m', aiiixed to the under side of the lever l, prevents leakage of air around the pin m, except when the lever is raised, and then leakage is not objec- IOO IIO

tionable. The lever is arranged below a pin, n, or projection extending from the valvej, and when the movable board C of the windchest or receiver is raised by the collapsing of the wind chest sufficiently to bear against the pin m the lever Zwill be raised, and, acting upon the pin a, will raise the valve j and admit air. rlhus it will be seen that the valve jis made to constitute a means of equalizing the pressure in the wind-chest or receiver.

It will be observed that the lever l extends toward the slow-moving portion of the movable board C( of the wind-chest, and that it eX- tends a considerable distance past the valve.

This is ofimportance, because then a very slow and gradual motion is imparted to the valvej when it is operated and the tension of airin the wind-chest is gradually relieved, and the proper operation of the reeds is secured at all times.

If desirable, a separate equalizing-valve might be employed, and the pin m might act upon the valve through other mechanism than the lever I, having an equivalent effect on the valve.

If the wind-chest or receiver and bellows were pressure instead of exhaust, the movable board C might act upon an equalizing-valve in a different manner from that here shown. For instance, it might serve to draw a valve inward. By the employment of my gradually and slowly opening valve the tension of airis always graduated to suit the number of reeds in operation, and the tension is relieved so gradually as not to effect undesirable results. When a relief-valve is raised by the direct aetion of the movable board of the wind-chest the relief afforded is very sudden, and, besides being objectionable in regard to the action produced on the reeds, so suddenly reduces the resistance offered to the motion of the drivingshaft as to allow its motion to become suddenly accelerated and interfere seriously with the uniform feeding of the music-sheet. My slowly and gradually operating valve is advantageous in obviating this result.

The top of the case A is closed by a cover, M, hinged at o, andi in said cover are two swells, N, which have arms pprojecting from their under sides, and crossed and pivoted to the side 0f the case A at q. To the lower ends of the arms p are connected links r, by which the diverging lower ends of the pair of arms p are brought togetherandtheswellsNclosed. The swells are kept closed by a spring, s, which acts upon the pivot connecting the two links r.

I/Vhat I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. In a mechanical musical instrument adapted to be operated by a traveling music-sheet, the combination, with a roller around which the sheet is wound or passes, and a drivingshaft for imparting motion thereto, of a rest for the traveling music-sheet overhanging said shaft, substantially as specified.

2. In a mechanical musical instrument, the

block below or at an opposite side of said shaft for moving said block to cause the shaft to impart motion to either of said rollers and simultaneously release it from the other roller, substantially as specified.

3. In a mechanical musical instrument, the combination of music and take-up rollers, a driving-shaft arranged between them, a bearing-block for said shat't capable of adjustment to cause said shaft to impart motion to one of said rollers and simultane )usly release the other, an elastic arm, and means for actuating said arm to adjust said bearing-block, and at the same time put such a tension on the arm as to cause it to exert a spring force, whereby it holds said shaft with a yielding pressure in position to transmit the desired motion, substantially as specified.

4t. The combination of the music and takeup rollers I-I Il', the driving-shaft E, the pivoted bearing-block L, having the elastic arm or tail-piece L', and mechanism connected with said arm or tail-piece for moving said block, substantially as specified.

5. In a mechanical musical instrument, the combination, with music and take-up rollers, and a driving shaft arranged between them, of a crank connected with the bear ing supporting one end of said shaft, and serving to adjust said shaft transversely and hold it in the position to which it is adjusted, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

6. The combination ot'V the music and takeup rollers H H', the driving-shaft E, the pivoted bearing-block L, the crank h., and rod g, all substantially as specified.

7. In a mechanical musical instrument, the combination of a wind-chest or receiver, a relief-valve, a rock-shaft provided with two arms, to one of which said valve is connected, and means for acting upon the other arm to raise said valve, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

8. The combination of the drivingshaft E,

the bearing-block L, the rod g and crank h, the relief-valve j, and the rock-shaft k, having the arm k2, which is acted upon by the rod g to open said valve, substantially as specified.

9. In a wind musical instrument, the combination, with an expansible wind-chest or receiver, of a valve and means deriving motion from the movable board of the wind-chest or receiver, and serving to impart to the valve a slower and more gradual motion than it would derive if operated directly from the movable board of the wind-chest or receiver, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

`l0. In a wind musical instrument, the combination, with an expansible wind-chest or receiver, ofa valve and means comprising a lever deriving motion from the movable board of the IOO IIO

IZO

wind-chest or receiver, and imparting to the valve a slower and more gradual motion than the said board would impart to the valve if it acted directly on the valve, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

11. In a wind musical instrument, the combination, with an expansible wind-chest or receiver, of a valve, a lever extending beyond the valve, and a pin projecting' into the windchest or receiver through the fixed board thereof, and adapted to be operated by the movable board to slowly and gradually open the valve, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

12. The combination of the wind-chest or receiver C, the valve j, having a projection, u, 15

A. H. HAMMOND.

Witnesses T. J. KEANE, J AMES R. BOWEN. 

